(PRESS RELEASE) -- KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Jan. 1, 2013) – Invicta Fighting Championships has partnered with leading live streaming platform Ustream to deliver the much-anticipated Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt women’s world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event live, in its entirety, on InvictaFC.com from Memorial Hall in Kansas City on Saturday, Jan. 5.
In addition, Invicta FC announced today that MMA legend Bas Rutten, superstar Muhammed Lawal and women’s sensation Julie Kedzie will call the action cageside for the star-studded, 13-bout fight card.
“We are excited about partnering with Ustream, a company well-known for delivering exceptional quality streams of live sporting and entertainment events, and are looking forward to showcasing another stacked fight card full of superstars and up-and-coming women’s professional MMA talent to a worldwide audience,” said Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp.
Since retiring, Rutten, a former UFC heavyweight champion, has established himself as one of MMA’s leading play-by-play announcers and analysts. Lawal and Kedzie return to the Invicta FC broadcast booth for the fourth consecutive time.
Tickets for Invicta FC 4: Carla Esparza vs. Bec Hyatt, priced from $25, are on sale at Memorial Hall box office (913-549-4853), online at Ticketmaster.com and InvictaFC.com and by phone at 800-745-3000.
In the main event and first-ever Invicta FC strawweight (115 pounds) world championship bout, “Rowdy” Bec Hyatt (4-1) of Brisbane, Australia will collide with surging star Carla Esparza (8-2) of Redondo Beach, Calif.
In the bantamweight (135 pounds) co-main event, crowd-pleasing submission ace Shayna Baszler (15-7) of Sioux Falls, S.D. will battle fellow top-ranked star Alexis Davis (12-5) of Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada.
Power puncher Leslie Smith (4-2-1) of Pleasant Hill, Calif. will square off with submission specialist Raquel Pennington (3-2-1) of Colorado Springs, Colo. at bantamweight.
Hard-hitting KO artist Amanda Nunes (7-2) of Salvador Bahia, Brazil will take on submission specialist Sarah D’Alelio (6-3) of San Jose, Calif. at bantamweight.
JEWELS star Hiroko Yamanaka (12-2) of Kisarazu, Japan will battle Invicta FC 3 winner Ediene Gomes (8-2) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in a featherweight (145 pounds) contest.
Unbeaten Matt Lindland-protégé and European Muay Thai Champion Livia von Plettenberg (1-0) of Vienna, Austria will meet undefeated Joanne Calderwood (4-0) of Glasgow, Scotland at strawweight.
After scoring her second consecutive, five-second KO on July 8, Veronica Rothenhausler (0-0) of Reno, Nev. will make her much-anticipated professional debut on the Invicta FC 4 preliminary card against fellow heavy-handed featherweight competitor Katalina Malungahu (2-1) of Las Vegas, Nev.
The seven-bout preliminary card will be capped off with an atomweight (105 pounds) matchup between Stephanie Frausto (4-4) of Cincinnati, Ohio and Cassie Rodish (3-3) of Des Moines, Iowa.
Unbeaten Tamikka Brents (1-0) of Springfield, Illin. will take on Amanda Bell (0-0) of Medford, Ore. at featherweight.
Jodie Esquibel (2-0) of Albuquerque, N.M. and Liz McCarthy (1-0) of Tigard, Ore. will square off at atomweight.
Emily Kagan (2-0) of Albuquerque, N.M. will put her undefeated record on the line against Rose Namajunas (0-0) of Milwaukee, Wis. In a strawweight matchup.
Paige VanZant (2-0) of Sparks, Nev. will face off with Tecia Torres (1-0) of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. at strawweight.
Laura Sanko (0-0) of Kansas City will make her professional debut in the cage in a strawweight (105 pounds) matchup with Cassie Robb (0-0) Casper, Wyo
About Invicta Fighting Championships: Invicta Fighting Championships (www.invictafc.com) is a world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp and sports aficionado Janet Martin, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible matchups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport.